Releasable ski pole strap



United States Patent [72] lnventor Allan ll. Pierce 2515 Terrace View Drive, Eugene, Oregon 97405 [211 App]. No. 795,504

Jan. 31, 1969 Nov. 17, 1970 [22] Filed [45] Patented [54] RELEASABLE SKI POLE STRAP 4/1938 Switzerland 280/ll.37BH 6/1947 Switzerland 280/l1.37BH

ABSTRACT: A releasable ski pole strap construction having frangible means attached at one end to the apertured ends ofa ski strap and at the other end to means disposed within the ski pole handgrip, the frangible means being adapted to release the strap when such receives a skier-disabling impact force. The frangible means may comprise a wire link of figure-8" shape, the loops of said link being disposed in planes located at right angles to each other, one loop being engageable with the apertured ends of the ski strap, the other loop being engageable with the attaching means in the handgrip, the loops of the link being adapted to open up on sustaining a skier-disabling impact force. Alternatively, the frangible means may comprise a plastic strip attached at one end to the ski strap and at the other end to the attaching means in the handgrip, the strip being adapted to break upon sustaining a skier-disabling impact force.

Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,540,751

ALLAN H. PIERCE INVENTOR BUCKHORN, BLOl-PE, KLAROU/S T 8 SPAR/(MAN ATTORNEYS RELEASABLE SKI POLE STRAP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referringto the drawings and in particular to FIG. I, the

This invention relates .to ski poles of the type used by skiers upper extremity of a tubular Ski poje is indicamd by the and, more particularly, to ski poles of the type in which the wrist engaging strap is separable from the pole upon sustaining a sudden impact or otherwise excessive force that might cause injury to the skier.

The usual ski pole construction comprises a shaft or pole of metal or bamboo having a handgrip at its upper extremity and a snow penetrating point or spike at its lower extremity. A disc or basket is mounted on the pole adjacent the point to limit the penetration of the pole into the snow, and a wrist engageable strap is usually attached to the upper end ofthe pole or the handgrip to secure the pole to the skiers wrist.

The strap is necessary to prevent accidental loss ofthe pole; however, it has frequently been the cause of serious injury to the skier. If the basket on the pole should catch on an obstruction, such as a root, rock, branch ofa tree or even become-tangled with another skier, the ski pole can severely injure the skiers wrist, arm, or shoulder since the strap unyieldingly anchors the pole to the wrist.

Accordingly. a number of releasable ski strap constructions have been heretofore proposed. These straps have been designed to accomplish the necessary and usual function of attaching the pole to the wrist, while being able to separate from the pole upon being subjected to an excessive force, thereby to prevent injury to the skier. However, such constructions have not been entirely successful. They have beenrelatively complicated and consequently. expensive. As a result, the majority ofski poles in use today are unequipped with releasable strap means, thereby to constitute a continuing threat to the safety ofskiers.

It is thus the primary object of the present invention to provide a releasable ski pole strap construction that will be simple and economical to construct and will thus find ready acceptability by skiers everywhere SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The releasable ski strap construction of the present invention comprises-frangible means attachedat one endto the ends of a ski strap member and at the other end to means disposed within the ski pole handgrip, such'frangible means being adapted to release the strap member upon receiptof a skier-disabling impact force. The frangible means may desirably/comprise a figure-8" link, the loops ofthe link being disposed in planes located at right angles to each other, one such loop being engageable with the ends of the strap member, the other loop being engageable with the attaching means in the handgrip, at least one of the loops being adapted to open up on sustaining an excessive force.

Alternatively, the frangible means may comprise a plastic strip attached at one end to the strap member and at the other end to the attaching means in the handgrip, the strip being adapted to break upon sustaining an excessive force.

I BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevational view, partly in section,.of the handgrip and wrist strap assembly of the present invention in place on the upper extremity ofa ski pole.

FIG. 2 is another embodiment of a ski pole suitable for use with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a figure-8" wire link'suitable for use as the frangible means in the improved ski strap constructions of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention in which the frangible connecting means comprises a plastic strip.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view ofthe strip of FIG. 4.

meral 10. A molded elongated tubular handgrip 12 of rubber or plastic is snugly fitted over the upper extremity of the pole 10, and the usual wrist strap for attaching the pole to the wrist of the skier is indicated by the numeral 14.

As shown in FIG. I, the pole is conically tapered as at 16 and the ends 18 of the strap 14 are furnished with a grommet 20 which provides two apertures 22 in the strap 14. Alternatively and as shown in FIG. 2, the pole 10 may be provided with a wood insert 24 in the upper extremity 26 thereof to receive a threaded fastener 28 passing through the handgrip The presentinvention contemplates the provision of frangiaxial force of approximately pounds. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the two loops 32 are rotated so that their planes are located at right angles to each other. Thus one loop 320 passes through the apertures 22 and the other loop 32b is received upon the conically tapered end 16 ofthe pole 10, the handgrip l2 fitting over the entire assemblage with the strap 14 passing through a slot 34 therein in the usual manner.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the link 30 joins the apertures 22 in the strap 14 with the fastener 28, one loop 32:! passing through the apertures 22' and the other loop 32b being received on the fastener 28.

In both embodiments if an excessive or impact force be applied to the strap 14, either one or both of the loops 32 will merely open up, thereby to release the strap 14 from its engagement with theattaching meansin the handgrip 12 (the conically tapered end 16 on the pole to in FIG. 1 or the pounds), the link may be made ofa lighter gauge wire should a lesserfail-safe load be desired, as for a childs pole.

An advantage ofthe "figure-8" link type of frangible means illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is that the link 30 may easily be repaired after a loop 32 opens up merely by use of a pair of pliers.

An alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The frangible means therein illustrated'comprises a plastic strip 40 having two apertures 42, 44, one in each end. One of the apertures 42 is designed to fit over the attaching means in the handgrip 12, that is, either over the conically tapered end 16 on the pole 10 illustrated in FIG. I or on the fastener 28 in the type of pole construction illustrated in FIG. 2. The other aperture 44 is sandwiched between the ends 18 ofthe strap 14 being retained by the grommet 20. Should an excessive or impact force be sustained by the strap 14 in an amount that might cause injury to the skier, the strip 40 merely breaks in two. I

lclaim:

1. A releasable ski pole strap construction comprising:

an elongated tubular handgrip member adapted tightly to receivea ski pole therein;

a wrist engageable strap member having apertures at both ends, said strap member being folded so that said apertures are in register and adjacent said handgrip member;

means disposed within said handgrip member and adapted to attach said strap member to said pole; and

frangible means attached at one end to said apertured ends of said strap member and at the other end to said attaching means, said frangible means being adapted to release said strap member when said strap member receives a skier-disabling force.

2. The ski pole of claim 1 in which said frangible means comprises a figure-8 link, one loop of said link being engage-able with said apertures in said strap member, the other loop of said link being engageable with said attaching means in said handgrip memberv 3. The ski pole of claim 2 in which said loops are rotated so that their planes are at right angles to each other.

4. The ski pole of claim 2 in which said link is a wire link. at

least one of said loops being adapted to open up when said strap member receives a skier-disabling force.

5. The ski pole of claim 1 in which said frangible means comprises a plastic strip, said strip being adapted to break when said strap member receives a skier-disabling force 6. The ski pole of claim 5 in which said plastic strip com prises two apertures, one in each end, said plastic strip being attachable by means of one aperture to said apertured ends of said strap member. said plastic strip being attachable by means of the other aperture to said attaching means in said handgrip member. i 

